The temptation of an elven princess
by Arkenstonia
Summary: Alasse is an elven princess, she was always just a shadow to her older sister. Their family underestimated her, until she finds the one thing, that can change everything - the One Ring.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Darkness surrounds her. Consuming darkness. She could destroy it with a wink of her eye, destroy it with her inner light. But she starts to feel comfortable in it. It starts to feel like home.

She doesn't understand, why everyone else loathes the darkness, instead of embracing it. It grants unbelievable powers, that she had never thought of. Powers, that can help her get, what she desires - revenge.

Her real home feels so far away right now - emotionally. She can't think of a bond between herself and her so-called family. They underestimated her, they tried to bring her down. At least, that's what she knows now. Empowered by the clarity the darkness has brought onto her.

They favoured her sister, the fairy elven princess with the golden hair and a skin as pale as the light itself. With eyes as blue as the waters of the Anduin, with eyes, that can see deep into the soul of every living creature. So different to herself. She had never been granted any power besides being an elven princess herself. The younger one, the forgotten one, the one, who wasn't granted any wish. She had to work harder without being able to work hard.

The darkness never asks, what she can bring in. She feels like an empty bowl, which the darkness slowly fills. The first time something cares for her - even if it's just in the consuming way the darkness does.

The first time she feels powerful, she feels right, she feels the power of evil rise inside of her. And everything just because of a tiny piece of jewellery. A tiny piece of gold.

The One Ring.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

Orianna was out on her patrol. Well, not officially. She was a female dwarf and not really allowed to participate in the military service. But: she had her daily routine. And her own daily patrol. No matter what anybody else would say.

She was sitting on top of a stone inside of the massive throne room of the dwarven king. Hidden behind a huge pillar. Huddled. And listening. To get that right: she was and would always be loyal to her king and his family. But on the other hand it wasn't bad to know, what was going on around her, was it?

This morning the young, yet powerful and wise wizard Valandalf had arrived, which always meant something. She wasn't sure, what exactly, but that was one of the reasons she sat on this stone.

"Thror", the dark voice of the wizard buzzed through the vast hall, echoing from every corner of the room. "You need to listen to me."

"I don't want to hear this stupid story about this upcoming danger." Orianna couldn't see her king, but she knew, that he was waving his hand in front of the wizard. That was, what he always did, when he disliked something.

"Thror", the voice was calmer now, gentler. "You know, that I've always been a friend of the dwarves. I supported you, whenever I could. All I'm asking you is to trust me."

"Valandalf", the dwarven king wasn't gentler or milder speaking. This was his kingdom. "My friend. I don't want to put my dwarves in danger, when I can avoid it. We were born to mine, to craft, to create with what is given. And we are doing good."

"But there is a danger, that will come onto your kingdom, King Thror, whether you accept it or not. This danger will not ask your permission!"

"I will not change my mind on this subject. Know, that I trust you and I value everything you did for me and my dwarves. And still do. But I will not leave this mountain and I will not endanger those, who trust me."

"I don't want you to leave, but to fight as long as there still is a chance. The longer you wait, the tougher it gets. I'm just asking you to send out a group of 10 or 15 of your paladins to fight the danger and to ensure the future of all of you."

"Friend, I heard, what you said. Still I am not willing to concede." Orianna heard her king getting up, imagining him to put his hand on Valandalfs shoulder, as he often did. "Please join me and my family for lunch, you must be starving."

* * *

"Tamis, Tamis", Orianna knocked excessively on the door. "Tamis, open the door!"

Nervously she bounced from one leg to another. Centuries seemed to pass, before the door slowly opened and she saw the round face and the wild, brown curls of her best friend.

"Ori...", Tamis couldn't speak out the whole name of the excited dwarf in front of her, because Orianna already stormed through the door, just to stand in the middle of Tamis' living room, rubbing her hands and conspiratorially glancing at her.

"Go pack your bags, my friend!"

"Why?", Tamis asked, slightly worried by the expression on Oriannas face. Firm, yet excited and glaring.

"Because Valandalf needs us!"

Tamis stared at her again, this time in disbelief. "Us?"

"Well, yes." Orianna wanted to tell her friend everything she had overheard. Wanted her to know, why it was important, that they followed him. Wanted her to be just as excited as herself. But Tamis looked troubled, as though she wouldn't like the thought of leaving Erebor. "And no. Not exactly us, but dwarves. He needs dwarves to follow him. To rescue the rest of us."

Tamis shook her head, still in disbelief. "But what about the men? Why aren't they following?"

"Because Thror won't let them."

"And why does he need dwarves?"

"Oh, Tamis, don't ask that much, start packing instead! I'm already done." She pointed to a dark brown backpack, sitting on one of the wooden chairs, which stood in front of the small, but impressive fireplace.

Tamis sighed. "Will you at least tell me, where we're heading?"

Orianna summed up, what she had heard, while Tamis packed the things, that were most important to her - and some additional food.

"Orianna, I need a moment to...", she couldn't find the right words for what she was up to. "I'll just need about half an hour and I'll be back."

Orianna stared at her, thinking, one of her braided strands of hair between her fingers. "Are you sure?", she asked with a firm expression on her face. She knew, where Tamis would be heading. And she knew, that it wouldn't do her any good.

* * *

Tamis ran down the enormous stone floor, that lead her through the Erebor, to the place her heart drew her to. With a heart pounding as loud as a dwarven hammer she stood in front of a wooden door with carved intarsia. Slowly she lifted her hand, just to drop it again. She took a deep breath, before she lifted it again and knocked three times. The first one was gentle, the second one brave and the third one desperate.

"Enter!" The sound of this voice made her shudder, even if she was on the other side of the door. She opened it hesitantly. Was she really sure, that she wanted to do this? Nervously she flattened her dress with her shaking hands.

She cleared her throat, took another deep breath and entered the room. Looking down to the floor she dropped a curtsy, noticing the dark red carpet underneath her feet. A royal colour for a member of the royal family.

"Tamis", his voice seemed gentler, but she knew that could change within seconds. "What is the purpose of your visit?"

She raised her gaze, just to look into the room she knew so well. It was furnished with a dark brown writing desk, two armchairs padded with dark-red velvet and a small round table. She considered the grandson of her king as one of her friends. One of the closer ones.

She needed to talk to him, tell him, that he had to convince his grandfather to follow Valandalf. For the sake of those, who had been and those to come.

But she couldn't.

"Nothing", she said. Voices in her head screaming: 'You have to get your men out there. You have to fight and rescue all of us, before it is too late.'

"Nothing?", he asked, raising an eyebrow suspiciously.

"Nothing", she confirmed, marvelling at those hypnotizing blue eyes, letting her gaze wander across his face. She turned around, facing the door, lifting her hand to the level of the door knob. Hesitating. It was now or never. She turned again, facing Thorin, suddenly aware of the physical proximity of him. Slowly she leaned over, touched his cheek just for a short moment, before she placed a kiss on the exact same spot.

And then she ran, down the floor, tears in her eyes. Not knowing whether she would ever see him again. She would follow Valandalf and that would definitely mean she would be in danger soon.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Valandalf wasn't satisfied as he left the Erebor. Surely he could understand Thror, but it wasn't just about the Elves or the Humans. This was a direct threat to the Dwarves themselves.

Thror wouldn't be able to close his eyes to this matter forever. But at the moment Valandalf was in need of a new plan. Not, that he hadn't thought of one, even before he had visited the dwarven king.

Lost in thought he passed the gate, walking into the darkness of the night, as he suddenly heard the tripping of small feet behind him. He pretended to not hear them, but an almost invisible smile brightened up his face for a second.

"Valandalf!", a soft voice called. He turned around in surprise, seeing four dwarven females carrying their backpacks and running to him.

"Orianna?", she was the first one he recognized. She was approximately 4 feet tall, had the brightest and friendliest face Valandalf had ever seen and she was the only dwarf to wear glasses. As she reached him, she began to fumble around with the dark frame of her glasses, looking at Valandalf in pure anticipation and excitement.

"We heard, that you need help", she said, smiling, glowing. Her almost black hair fluttered around her shoulders, as a breeze of fresh air rushed through it.

"Yes, my friend", he answered, still surprised. "But are you sure you are the ones, that can help me? It's going to be dangerous out there. It's going to take days, weeks, maybe even years until we get back."

"If we come back", one of the other females added. He could see she had been crying, her eyes and cheeks were still reddened. As far as he could remember she was Tamis, a pretty good cook, very well-known among the dwarves for her talent.

"Yes, if we do", he added and he saw, that the shoulders of the young lady sank. Valandalf knew, that her heart would stay here, if she left. But her heart and her love were the reason, she was willing to follow him.

The last two dwarves arrived. The first one had her long, blond hair arranged in a complex updo, which reminded him a bit of the elven hair-does. She smiled at him, showing her white teeth, but also looking quite unsure of what would follow. Her name was Lori, Valandalf remembered. The second one had short dark-brown hair. The length wasn't usual for a dwarf, not even a male one. But then he remembered a story one of their fellow dwarves had told him a while ago. There had been a fire in the kitchen and one of the females had to have her hair cut - Ros. He also remembered, that she hadn't been whining or crying. Instead of doing so she helped extinguish the fire and helped rebuild, what it had destroyed.

Valandalf looked upon his small company and nodded. "All of you are willing to come with me? Leaving your home, not sure of the outcome of our little journey?"

He saw them exchanging looks, before they raised their gaze to look into his eyes again.

"Yes", was their answer. Given in the exact same moment.

* * *

They had been wandering around for a couple of hours now. Orianna felt the weight of her decision for the first time. She was thirsty and tired, her feet and her back ached. And Valandalf hadn't talked to them for a while now. She just followed him around, always keeping an eye on his dark red robe, focusing on the way ahead.

Suddenly he stopped and turned around. "We are going to rest for now!"

Just when Orianna wanted to ask, where they were about to sleep, she discovered the small cave Valandalf pointed to. She and her friends sank on the floor almost immediately. They picked up smaller branches, that lay on the ground, putting them together to initiate a fire.

"No!" Valandalf voice echoed from the walls of the cave and made Orianna shudder for no specific reason. "Don't light that fire!"

Orianna had the feeling, that she could see his dark-brown eyes glistening in the night.

"We need to be safe as long as we rest", he said firmly. "And evil is already after us!"

"Orcs?", Orianna asked and her voice was more of a trembling sound than she had expected it to be.

"No", Valandalf answered in a soothing, deep tone. "Evil comes in many sizes and in many variations, my friends. Never forget that."

As to emphasize his words a gust of wind blew through the entrance of their cave, leaving a cold shudder on all of them.

* * *

"Have you found the dragon yet?" She had given him the order three days ago. And he still hadn't found a single sign of the golden dragon. What a fool! Why did she choose him to follow her?

"N-n-no, majesty! I-I-I am s-s-so sorry!" At least he was referring to her as a majesty. Something she would be from now on. Nobody would ever dare to ignore her again.

The wimp in front of her bowed, before he looked up at her again. "B-b-but I've s-s-seen someth-th-thing interesting."

She loathed it, when she had to ask for something. Even if it was just an information. Impatiently she turned the golden ring around her finger, feeling its soothing and yet enraging power running through her body.

As her servant still did not answer, she looked at him in anger. Still no reaction?

"What did you see?" Her voice was louder and deeper, as she spoke. She could almost feel the tension this simple sentence was building between them.

He bowed again, then a third time, before he stuttered: "Th-th-the wiz-z-zard! H-h-he has a-a-a company!"

That, indeed, was interesting. A company? What was he planning on?

"Whom?", she demanded to know.

"Dwarves", he answered. The wizard was clever. Dwarves hated elves, they would fight against her. Eagerly, persistently.

"How many?"

"F-f-f-our f-f-females."

She raised one of her dark-brown eyebrows. "Females?", she said aloud as she thought it.

"Y-y-yes." He bowed again, the nervous wreck he always was. She waved him away.

"Find that dragon!"

She sank back into the cushions on her recamiere. What was that bastard planning? What could he do with four female dwarves?

The longer she thought about it, the more ridiculous was the imagination of a wizard and four female dwarves fighting her and her servants. And - if Duron succeeded - her dragon!


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

The night had been shorter than expected. When Tamis opened her eyes, Ros was already sitting right in front of her, staring at her.

"She's awake!", she yelled all across the cave.

Tamis got up, stretching her arms, yawning. Wearily she wiped the sleep out of her eyes.

"What's the matter?", she asked. Valandalf bent down to her, she could sense the scent of his magic around him.

"We need to travel on, my dear Tamis!"

"Where to?", she asked, before she could remember being polite. But Valandalf just smiled good-natured and understandingly.

"You will see, when the time is right."

Duron went deep into the dark forest, deeper than ever before. His mistress wanted him to succeed, so his only choice was to succeed or to end up running away. She wouldn't tolerate another disappointment. The problem was, that Duron had absolutely no idea where to search for the dragon. And given the possibility, that he found the dragon: what would he do to convince him to cooperate?

He didn't know. If he had known all of this before, he surely wouldn't have left the other elves. He had hoped for fame, glory, wisdom and freedom. But not one of these had yet arrived. Frustrated he sighed and suddenly stumbled over a root.

"Damn it!" he said, as he fell, ungracefully like no other elf.

As he walked on, the forest seemed to become darker and darker. The air thicker and thicker. Duron noticed a tremble, a sudden shudder. Where was he heading to? Where was he going? Where would this way lead him?

He heard something behind him, a crackle. Anxiously he turned around. To find nothing there and headed forward. His heart was beating as fast as an arrow and as loud as a whole battlefield. How did he get into a situation like this?

He leaped forward, slowly, keeping his eyes and ears open. Until he heard a rough and smoky breath just a heartbeat away.

Orianna was stunned by the fragile, delicate and downright beautiful structure of the city they just arrived in. She had never seen anything elvish, yet she knew, that only elves could be capable of such a wonderful artwork. She wasn't sure, if their home was as useful as it was beautiful, but she liked it for its grace and charm.

"Welcome, strangers!" A young female with such a pale skin, that she almost seemed translucent, addressed the dwarves, while Valandalf wandered around, leaving them behind, searching for someone. "My name is Leanor." She bowed in front of them, her warm, brown hair falling in soft waves around her head.

Orianna felt Tamis, Ros and Lori coming closer. They were astonished and afraid. None of them had ever had contact to an elf. And although the young woman in her pastel green dress didn't seem dangerous, they never knew, who was behind them, who wanted them to fail at whatever Valandalf was planning.

"Thank you?" Orianna slowly answered, not sure, whether it was the right answer or the wrong one.

"Let me show you around", she said and turned around, signalizing them to follow her, while she floated across the floor, barely touching the ground with her bare feet.

"She's pretty", Tamis whispered into Oriannas ear. She nodded. "And friendly", Tamis added nervously. Orianna was just as nervous as her, but at the moment she was a bit annoyed by the habit of Tamis to constantly talk, when she was.

They followed the elf around, realizing, that their hometown underneath the trees was huge and full of a grace, that they couldn't even put it into words.

In front of a small wooden table on a small platform in one of the trees, Leanor stopped. Three other elves were sitting there, smiling at her first and then at the visitors. Leanor said something Orianna couldn't understand, which made her even more nervous. She was almost tempted to draw her dagger, at least that was, what the male dwarfes had taught her. But Leanor stood behind the four strangers, laid her hands on their shoulders and suddenly all of the fear, all of the uncertainty fell off of them.

"These three, my little ones, are Michal, Jessa and Astrilia", Leanor spoke in such a gentle tone, that Orianna wasn't even upset by being called a little one. "They will be here for you and tell you everything, you ever wanted to know about us. Valandalf is a great friend of the elves and we know, that we can trust his choice of friends. Please feel at home in our woods, in our trees and enjoy the wisdom of the past centuries."

Valandalf walked around, searching for the one elf he hoped would help them defeating the upcoming danger. He could move among the elves without limitations. And soon he found Galadriel, the elven princess with the golden hair and the ability to predict the future.

"My dear Galadriel!", Valandalf greeted her, while walking towards her and her lady's maid Aneta.

Galadriel smiled at him, getting up, floating above the floor. "Valandalf", her voice was as soft as a summers breeze. She took his hands into hers and nodded gracefully.

"I'm merry to meet you again, Galadriel, but the matter I have to discuss is fairly serious."

"I know, my friend, I know. My sister is about to bring great darkness upon us."


End file.
